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Greek
Greek or Hellenic (Modern Greek: ελληνικά eliniˈka, elliniká, "Greek", ελληνική γλώσσα ˈɣlosa, ellinikí glóssa, "Greek language") is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to the southern Balkans, the Aegean Islands, western Asia Minor, parts of northern and Eastern Anatolia and the South Caucasus, southern Italy, Albania and Cyprus. It has the longest documented history of any single clearly-defined Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history; other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. The Greek language holds an important place in the histories of Europe, the more loosely defined Western world, and Christianity; the canon of ancient Greek literature includes works of monumental importance and influence for the future Western canon such as the epic poems Iliad and Odyssey. Greek was also the language in which many of the foundational texts of Western philosophy, such as the Platonic dialogues and the works of Aristotle, were composed; the New Testament of the Christian Bible was written in Koiné Greek. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, the study of the Greek texts and society of antiquity constitutes the discipline of Classics. During classical antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire and develop into Medieval Greek. In its modern form, the Greek language is the official language in two countries, Greece and Cyprus, a recognised minority language in seven other countries, and is one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. The language is spoken by at least 13 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, some parts of the Balkans, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are often used to coin new words for other languages; Greek and Latin are the predominant sources of international scientific vocabulary. Learning the Language Basic Stuff Wikipedia's article on modern Greek grammar might be worth a look Language learning sites: *Speak Greek with Rosetta Stone *BBC - Learn Greek with free online lessons *Filoglossia - Learning Greek as a foreign language *Reddit - Learning Greek *Considering learning modern Greek *Digital school (Ψηφιακό Σχολείο) from the Greek Ministry of Education (PDF textbooks for every level) *Duolingo course Start by learning some of the basic vocabulary to get started and perhaps some basic phrases ( http://www.united-hellas.com/greek-phrases.html) and greetings. Remember to try out pronunciation as often as possible. If possible try listening native Greeks speaking, or better yet conversing with them if at all possible. Movies Subtitled Movies: *Subscene *Findsubtitles *Opensubtitles *TV4User *Sublearning - learn languages from movie subtitles. Flash cards of movie lines in 62 languages Original Greek Movies: *Λόλα - Lola (1964) *Στέλλα - Stella (1955) *Η γυναικάρα απ'το Κιλκίς - I yinekara ap'to Kilkis (1985) *Φουκαράδες και λεφτάδες - Fukarades ke leftades (1970) *Κρουαζιέρα στη Ρόδο - Kruazyera sti Rodo (1960) *Η εφοπλιστίνα - I efoplistina (1971) *Ο μετανάστης - O metanastis (1965) *Τα δελφινάκια του Αμβρακικού - Ta delfinakia tou Amvrakikou (1993) *Του χωρισμού το τραίνο - Tou horismu to treno (1967) *Τρούμπα '67 - Troumba (1967) *Το πιο λαμπρό μπουζούκι - To pyo lambro buzuki (1968) *Ο παράς και ο φουκαράς - O paras ke o fukaras (1964) *Αγωνία - Agonia (1969) *Μια γυναίκα, μια αγάπη, μια ζωή! - Mia yineka, mia agapi, mia zoi (1971) *Εδώ είναι Βαλκάνια - Edo ine Balkania (1984) Movies Dubbed into Greek: *in Greece only kids movies/shows are dubbed into Greek, all the rest are subtitled.* Category:FSI difficulty level 4